NetWellness Experts Answer 20,000 Questions

Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus [February 25, 2003] - Mitchell Rashkin, MD, professor of internal medicine, pulmonary division, at the University of Cincinnati (UC) recently answered the 20,000th question for NetWellness through the anonymous, confidential, and free "Ask an Expert" service. NetWellness (www.netwellness.org) is a consumer health Web site provided by UC, The Ohio State University (OSU), and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Nearly 200 health care faculty members from the three universities answer the public's health-related questions through the "Ask an Expert" service.

"It is significant that we can provide such an outstanding public service while gaining recognition for the university," said Dr. Rashkin. "I have the opportunity to refer questions to many nationally renowned experts." Henry Kaminski, MD, from CWRU's Department of Neurology has answered over 500 questions and finds that "NetWellness provides patients with the opportunity to access information in a way that can be an important adjunct to their clinical care."

Faculty members from the universities volunteer to answer questions submitted through "Ask an Expert" and respond to all valid questions within two to three days. "NetWellness helps to fulfill one of the medical center's missions, serving the community," said William Martin II, MD, dean of the UC College of Medicine. "Our faculty provide trustworthy health information."

"NetWellness provides a way for faculty members to offer state-of-the-art health information from many fields to the public," said Jerry Goldberg, DDS, interim dean of CWRU's School of Medicine and dean of the School of Dentistry. "Most importantly, this is a source of health information that the public can trust because it is supervised by three major academic medical centers."

"NetWellness provides an important avenue to disseminate information vital to the health of the public on subjects ranging from epidemics to bioterrorism preparedness," said Dev Pathak, PhD, interim dean of OSU's School of Public Health and NetWellness director. "In addition to the unbiased and evidenced-based information provided by our faculty experts, this information can truly lead to improving health-related quality of life."

NetWellness archives the "Ask an Expert" questions and answers for visitors to browse, preserving complete anonymity and privacy. The answers, together with the ADAM Health Illustrated Encyclopedia, provide NetWellness visitors with more than 30,000 Web pages of high-quality health information, including audio and video clips and animation.

"People often feel comfortable asking questions on-line that they may not ask in other settings, even in the physician's office," said Dr. Kaminski. "By answering questions on NetWellness, I've also learned that many patients are not receiving even basic information from the health care system."

Dr. Rashkin noted, "The questions tend to come in three flavors; people that misunderstand information or need advice, those that don't have doctors or need second opinions, and many times, off the wall questions that provide a learning experience for both the person asking and the professional."

To ensure the quality and accuracy of the information posted on the Web site, faculty review the material annually. "Faculty at Ohio's best medical centers not only are among the best in the world, they are among the most generous, making their expertise available far beyond university walls through NetWellness," said Stephen Marine, NetWellness program director.

"This is truly a remarkable partnership that Ohio is offering the public with its three research institutions joining together to provide collective expertise," said Susan Wentz, MD, CWRU NetWellness director.

The 20,000th question was: Will beta-blockers aggravate my bronchiectasis? Dr. Rashkin answered: Beta-blockers may exacerbate bronchial hyper-reactivity leading to an asthmatic exacerbation characterized by shortness of breath, wheezing, or coughing. This is more likely with higher doses or nonselective beta-blockers. Bronchiectasis may have bronchial hyper-reactivity associated with it, depending on the underlying etiology. So, the answer is yes, sometimes. If you're experiencing symptoms, then you should discuss your medication with your health care provider.

In addition to the contribution of its three sponsoring universities, NetWellness has been supported by federal, state and foundation sources. For more information, visit the NetWellness Web site at "www.netwellness.org" or call (513) 558-8766.